Weekly Question
|
The Rules
| Note: The opinions posted on the Pagan Perspective pages are those of individuals and are not neccessarily shared or endorsed by the Witches' Voice inc. |
For Further
Discussion
Visit The
WitchVox List
of 242
Communication
'Net Sites:
Chat Boards
Email Lists
IRC Channels
| Author: Posted: Sep. 8, 2002 | This Page Viewed: 7,125,754 |
Question of the Week: 76 - 9/8/2002 America 911: One Year Later. What's Changed? Are we Safer?  September 11th, 2001 set in motion various changes in the way that people view the world. From personal tragedies to governmental policies to global military actions, many stories have emerged from that one fateful day. Has YOUR life changed since 9/11/01? How has the world changed? Are you feeling more or less secure these days? Do you think that 9/11 is too much the focus for current events/ policies or are we really living in a different world today? Will the 'war on terror' ever be over? Will you do something to commemorate this day or do you just wish that all of the hype would go away?You can review the original posts from last year's 9/11 Perspectives at: Responses to 9/11 |
| Reponses: There are 103 responses posted to this question. | Reverse Sort |
| What A Year... | Sep 9th. at 11:13:56 am EDT |
| Thomas D. Jones (Las Vegas) | Age: 26 - Email |
|
Last year... oh, the dreams I had, the omens and signs and devastating divinations. Fire and wrack and rubble... screams and moans... those who know me know that I have terrible nightmares all the time. And afterward, I was terrified of going to sleep. I had known that something was up; but how do you filter out all the trash? I didn't know then and I still don't. What lessons were brought into focus that day? Fanaticism is wrong, even my own fanaticism. I devoutly hoped and prayed for a spark that would touch off a cleansing of this world, even as I packed my military gear back in my duffle bags. I was ready. I was devoted. Ready for jihad. A war of righteousness, a war against the evils of sharia, and the fanatical demons that overstayed their welcome on an earth full of freedom-loving and peace loving people. Hey, wait a minute... I hate Islam. I hate Muslims. I hate Arabs. I'm sorry. I can't help it. I despise people who want to make me follow their rules and their religions simply for their own convenience; simply for their own gratification. Any excuse, as far as I was concerned, was good enough to liberate these people from their Kings and Imams. The incidences in Nigeria of late bear out my suspicions of Muslims in my own country; that some day they intend to take my freedoms and tell me that I am free to be Muslim, just like Khadafi told the Libyans. I hate conspiracy theories, too. They are ALL INCORRECT. Everything is deeper than you or I know, but it isn't as weird as we may sometimes think it is. Sometimes imagination is just that. Arabs blew those buildings up. I personally thought those buildings were insulting, though, they seemed to lack grace. They looked like Salt and Pepper mills on the Thanksgiving table. All this bounty spread out before one, and dominating the table are these UGLY shakers. At least we Americans know who our friends are, if there was any doubt... Britain. That's it. Every other country hates us. They want us to conform to their visions of what we should be. It looks like we may get that war after all. With everybody else. I will accept it, should they call me. I look forward to war with the world. It will be quite a fight. Personally, I hate the bushies too, all of 'em. On principle I could never vote for the son of another president. But that moron Gore was just too much a fluff piece to be President. I haven't seen any candidate display that much open cynicism since Jerry Brown. I voted libertarian. But the war holds a religious place in my heart, one that I am damned loath to give up. Destruction of excess and survival of the fittest are part of my creed. But it might not be likely. One thing that I have learned from all this is that it is a big joke. our govenment couldn't find its posterior with both collective hands and a road map. Or GPS. And that, my friends and loved ones, is the best news I could have ever had. It means we don't have to be afraid about the gov spying on us, or doing anything more than minor inconveniences. It's a common mistake, ( and I made it too ) to assume that a bunch of nice senile thouroughly corrupt old men and women could ever have any real effect on our nation. I think that's what ultimately causes the fear and disgust that other countries have for us. They live under kings and bureaucracies and dictators and mullahs and soviets ( in the instances of Europe and China {PRC} ) that are either horribly inefficient and responsible or dangerously maliciously maniacally efficient at the prosecution of internal affairs. We are better than this; any time our government shows signs of efficiency, we immediately vote them out and pass laws against them. This is not a cynical assessment; it a factual one and we should be genuinely proud of it. Towers? What towers? Arabs? What Arabs? Our inherent nature and national identity have helped absorb any possible impact this might have had on some other country. Oh, and Afghani women don't have to wear burkhas any more, and there's this nice Chinese guy rebuilding those Buddhas they blew up in 99. I KNEW no good would come of that, Just knew it. |
| Things Have Changed | Sep 9th. at 11:58:55 am EDT |
| Marissa (Bryan, Tx) | Age: 17 - Email |
|
i remember that day very clearly, my Mom had a bad headache and had stayed home from work. i was fixing breakfast for her when i saw my sister changing channels and got a brief glimpse of two tall buildings burning. i asked her to change back, Mom asked me why and i tolled her i had thought i saw something on the news. we changed back...we spent the entire day watching and the next several watching the news and checking for details and information. as time has passed, i have watched the news talking about the variety of things Bush and co. have pushed in to law. and some of the things that have come to pass frighten me almost as much as watching the world trade center crumble on TV. i have heard about American-Arbics and American-Muslims being beaten even today, a year latter. i have watched this homeland security rise up and heard about over a thousand people being held in custody and still not been charged with anything. i have heard people crying out that Muslims and Arabs are all evil, and i can't help but feel deep sorrow for all those who will be harmed by this kind of hatred, which is so very much like the kind that the Taliban flaunts. the government has given several agencies with a history of abusing there powers still more power and even now are trying to loosen some of the restraints that bind them and give them still more power. we have and are losing essential freedoms in the name of fighting terrorism. this all scares me, because i remember that Hitler rose to power in a very similar fashion. People tell me that this will all pass and things will get better soon. I start to feel hope as I listen to them talk. then i listen to hate mongering 'Christians' (whom i do not consider to be real Christians) crying out that it's all the feminists, witches and gay peoples fault and that we should support Bush in his fight to save our nation. i listen to our 'leaders' telling urging us that we should go to war on Iraq. i hear about the abuses and the lies and the cries of 'hate! hate! fear and more hate!'. and i can't help but wonder if this is going to be a world i want to live in another year. or even if there will be a world to live in. Blessed Be! |
| What's Changed? SO Very Much | Sep 9th. at 12:27:36 pm EDT |
| Gí Forestchilde (Western, MA) | Age: 29 - Email |
|
I remember where I was and the horror that I felt. I still cringe when I hear a plane that is too loud (and I live near 2 air force bases and an international airport ... I cringe a lot). I remember that feeling of helplessness and confusion ... then of profound sadness at the needless loss of life. I feel pride for the all heroes and Todd Beamer's immortal words "Let's roll" echo in my head when I am in a moment of hesitation More than anything I sense a change in our nation. We finally have some comprehension of the devastation that rocks the rest of the world; of the horror that any moment all that we love could be destroyed without rhyme or reason. It is innocence lost. And because of that I live in fear. Not because I fear another attack. We as Americans have shown that we are resilient and can take anything they outside world can dish out. The fear I feel is from inside this nation, from my own countrymen. The patriotic fervor that has taken hold of this country is saturated with so much "us vs. them" mentality that we are turning on each other. Radical fundamentalists and conservatives are preaching the end of our society of we do not allow them to do as they see fit … and we are letting them. They are slowly stripping us of our constitutional rights in the name of “freedom”. They are sacrificing our lives on the altars of their gods: money and power. Fear is the ultimate weapon of control … and it is being used to the fullest extent, by both the enemy without and within. Fear is the ultimate weapon of control … and it is being used to the fullest extent, by both the enemy without and within. It is my fervent hope that we remember that we are one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all … not just for the select few who subscribe to the ideology of the moment. I will be home on Wednesday night, with the TV on reliving the horror along with so many others. I will have a candle lit, just like so many others ... all of us with hopes and prayers for those we lost, those we found, and those in charge that they may see the light. Yours with hope, Gí |
| 9/11 And 5/11 | Sep 9th. at 1:33:53 pm EDT |
| Silver Cat Woman (Taos NM) | Age: 59 - Email |
|
I was shocked by the events of 9/11/01. I relapsed with Post Tramatic Shock Syndrom and went back into therapy. I was just felling that I was recovering when I found my best friend of 16 years dead on 5/11/02. I find some of the First Amendment Rights that are being talked about needing to be limited very scary. As a Witch I believe that it is much scarier to have my rights infringed on than to risk who/what is out there. I don't want The People's Government taken from our hands and put into the hands of that government. I do believe that to violate the Constitution in a way that says the government is more important than the People is wrong and will lead to harm for the People. |
| We Must Never Forget. | Sep 9th. at 2:04:03 pm EDT |
| Ember Summerhawk (New Jersey) | Age: 37 - Email |
|
My husband works about 10 blocks away from the WTC site, and was already at work that day. For about 20 minutes, I couldn't contact him, and kept thinking "What if he was late and took the subway into the WTC" as he sometimes did. When I finally heard from him, the relief was overwhelming. And I thought "There are many people who will not have this feeling of relief - possibly ever again". We both personally knew people who were lost. The most important thing is to never forget. I do not mean that we must always have major ceremonies marking every second - no, we must never forget IN OUR HEARTS!! And we must realize that not all Muslims are like those fanatics. We must look back with wisdom, and try to dispell the fear and hatred. But we must always remember the souls lost in NYC and DC. Perhaps we as a nation have finally gotten to see what is important. The greed of many corportations has been uncovered, and I believe it is tolerated less after 9/11. Life has changed. It has changed utterly, to quote Yeats. And I still wonder as my husband leaves for work each morning if he will make it home. |
| Innocence Lost | Sep 9th. at 2:08:55 pm EDT |
| Ka'aper Abydos (Long Beach, CA) | Age: 45 - Email - Web |
|
As I believe was true with all Americans, I was shocked and horrified at the death of thousands of innocent people whose only crime was being American. I wanted vengeance and bloodshed. I marched in rallies and flew the flag (which unlike a lot of people, I had ALWAYS done). I was fairly new to Witchcraft then and luckily did not know a lot about vengance and attack, or I would have been tempted to use them and damn the consequences. It sharpend my realization of what fanaticism and twisted interpretations can drive people to do. Islam suffered its blackest eye in my opinion at that time. I have Muslim friends who were just as horrified as I was. This corruption of what the Koran teaches made them furious. Islam, like Christianity, is supposed to be about love and tolerance. But just as the Christians did with the Crusades and the Inquisition, so now do some Muslims see this as a holy cause. But in reality, they are being manipulated by people whose only goal is power and to force all others to believe as they do. Rather than hate them anymore, I pity them for their blindness. Does this mean we should not fight the so-called war on terrorism? No. But let us not kill the innocent to get the guilty. "I once was lost, but now I see". Karma will take its course with the guilty and the innocent. Blessed be, Ka'aper Abydos |
| People Are Becoming Better, Politics Becoming Worse... | Sep 9th. at 3:07:48 pm EDT |
| Raven Feather (United States) | Age: 20 - Email |
|
what i have seen since Sept. 11th makes me believe that most people in the world are becoming better, wiser, but that that movement is facing the quashing influence of corrupt politics, which are becoming more corrupt by the day. it will be a close call which philosophy wins out, the philosophy of peace, love, and tolerance or the philosophy of hatred, fear, and indifference. still i think that for all the attrocious behavior that has been witnessed post-9/11, in the end the world will become a better place, because it can not take much more i think before the people of the Earth cry out for a better world to be wrought for we and our descendents. 9/11 has brought us much wander and much horror in it's aftermath, but in the long run i think it has been the greatest eye-opener for humanity. |
| Here We Go Again | Sep 9th. at 3:46:50 pm EDT |
| Cat (Asheville, NC) | Age: 35 - Email |
|
God(dess.) I think I feel worse now than I did a year ago; when I look at national and international events, especially the ones Wren documents this week, I am so scared, and so depressed. It sticks in my keyboard to write this cliche, but I do love America; I love the physical landscape, which could've been paradise, and I love the ideal of democracy, even when I know what we've done with it. But if I travelled abroad I'd be ashamed to admit it. I know what we look like out there, and what we look like is really pretty accurate. Like many others here, I feel that nothing has changed on a national scale (unlike the changes in the lives of the survivors.) The powerful keep accruing more power, and the weak keep fighting over the scraps. It's always been that way and I'm really afraid that it always will be. What's changed isn't the death of thousands, but something that started a long time before: the birth of billions. When you have uncontrolled population growth, it's a lot harder to get away from the people who have too much stuff and want everyone else's stuff. It's a lot harder to say that there's enough stuff to go around, and a lot harder to believe in the nonhuman world surviving our depredations. These feelings aren't the result of my warped life, either: I have a really nice life, probably a lot nicer than I deserve. I can make meaning of my life, especially with the help of paganism. I can arrange my own feelings to my satisfaction, whether that means vengeance or forgiveness, since I have nothing to personally avenge or forgive. But what does that matter, when most of the world can't have these luxuries, and when my having them helps to maintain that status quo? What does it matter what any of us thinks? Is our thinking going to change the power dynamics of the whole overpopulated world? Is it going to make the powerful behave more responsibly? I'd say that only violence can achieve that, but I'm not sure that even violence can. Maybe nothing can. I know that one tenet of paganism is that what we think can make a difference. Today, though, I just can't believe it. In America, even our faith is a luxury item--one more mark of our leisure and privilege. |
| Things Have Changed | Sep 9th. at 8:38:36 pm EDT |
| Merricat Wing (Hinckley, Il. USA) | Age: 45 - Email |
|
A year later and things have changed. I turn on the television now, not looking for a weather report, or the latest happenings on my soap opera; I turn it on looking for a sign that the world is at Peace(and hoping no other terrible terrorist attack has occured). Today I watched the replay of 9/11/01. I heard the survivors stories, and the families of the victims speaking of their loved ones forever lost to them in this life. I cried my tears again. Tears of loss, of fear, of such great sadness. The people of my government are trying to find answers, unfortunately some look to war. We were all saddened and horrified a year ago, and now our leaders are talking about bringing that saddness and terror to another group of people. I don't understand. I really don't understand. Why can't we all get along? Why can't we accept our differences? And enjoy and learn from those differences? What has happened to the world? What has happened to this country-United States of America? I love my country, but I don't blindly follow its leaders into War. I can only hope and pray that someone out there is looking for peace besides me. |
| We Must Act | Sep 9th. at 10:42:58 pm EDT |
| Daniel (Midwest USA) | Age: 49 - Email |
|
The events of last year did not change my view of the world. I am a proud Vietnam Vet. I served my country And I have always known that their are nations and peoples that hate America and Americans. I know that there are groups that hold no lives scared but there group. I hate that I have to say this but sometimes violence is the answer. I have seen the death and distruction of war. I have smelled the death. I HATE war. I hate it in a way that only those that have been in one can. May the Gods of Peace forgive me but to stop these cowardly terroist,to protect those that can not protect themselves ( children and the harmless ) WE must act and act now. It is time to call to Thor and Odin and Tyr. We must prevail. |
| Over It | Sep 10th. at 1:40:38 am EDT |
| pheonix solitaire (st. cloud fl) | Age: 19 - Email |
|
I dont mean to sound callous, but I'm almost sick of hearing about 9/11. Reminding the world of the tragedy twelve times a day everyday is no way to help the situation and to get on with our lives. |
| Forever Changed | Sep 10th. at 10:48:06 am EDT |
| Sistersea (Ferndale Washington) | Age: 40 - Email |
|
One year ago on the morning of Sept 11th I was awakened at by a phone call from my sister, telling me to turn on the news. I was anticipating flying out to New York City, the city of my birth later that morning with my small son, daughter and my Mother. We were going to make a long planned visit with my Mothers family. I will never forget turning on the television and seeing the first tower of the World Trade Center with a gaping hole in it. I sank to my knees when the pictures of the second plane hitting the second tower came over the screen. I received a call from my 86 year old grandmother shortly thereafter who sobbed with relief to know that we were not in the air and then sobbed with the fear of one who had experience a similar attack called Pearl Harbor. I walked around in shock cancelling our flights, fielding calls from concerned friends and relatives from around the world. Trying at the sametime to comfort and assure my 6 year old and find someway to explain to her why we were not going to be getting on a plane to see great grandmother, knowing at the same time that we were going to war. Not knowing what that senario would mean to this country. It took me months to come to terms with the events of Sept 11th some things about that day I may never come to terms with. I savor every day with my children and my family and know with a much more acute sense that tomorrow is not a guarantee. I have less tolerance of intolerance, in myself or others. I will never feel that almost arrogant sense of security that we as Americans seemed to feel prior to Sept 11th. I have deepened my committment and appreciation of my Pagan spirituality and take greater comfort in our Pagan community. I have choosen to become more politically active toward fundementalisim in our country and abroad regardless of which religion. I am forever changed. I am choosing to be changed in a positive way as my personal tribute to our fallen. |
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright 1997-2013 The Witches' Voice Inc. All rights reserved
Note: Authors & Artists retain the copyright for their work(s) on this website.
Unauthorized reproduction without prior permission is a violation of copyright laws.
Website structure, evolution and php coding by Fritz Jung on a Macintosh G5.
Any and all personal political opinions expressed in the public listing sections (including, but not restricted to, personals, events, groups, shops, Wren’s Nest, etc.) are solely those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinion of The Witches’ Voice, Inc. TWV is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization.
Sponsorship: Visit the Witches' Voice Sponsor Page for info on how you
can help support this Community Resource. Donations ARE Tax Deductible.
The Witches' Voice carries a 501(c)(3) certificate and a Federal Tax ID.
Mail Us: The Witches' Voice Inc., P.O. Box 341018, Tampa, Florida 33694-1018 U.S.A.